Football, basket ball, and the like



May l. 1928.l I

M. SCUDDER FOOTBALL, BASKET BALL, AND THE LIKE Filed March 8. 1926 pullv fab/@NZZ e Patented May l, 1928.

1 UNITEDl STATES 1,668,173 PATENT OFFICE.

MASON SCUDDER, 0F ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI, ASSIGNOB TO RAWLINGS UFACTUBINGCOMPANY, OF ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI, A CORPORATION OF MISSOURI.

FOOTBALL, BASKET BALL, AND-THE LIKE.

Application lcd March 8, 1926. Serial No. 93,143@

This invention relates to foot balls, baslret balls and similar balls ofthe type 1n which the bladder` is equipped with an intiating.

valve whose stem is so arranged that a pump can be connected to samewithout disturbing the lacing that closes the slit in the casing throughwhich the bladder is inserted 1n the casing.

One object ofrmy invention 1s to (provide a ball of the general typereferre to in which the stem of the inflating valve is com bined withthe casing in a novel manner that eliminates the possibility of theterminal portion of said valve stem becomin arranged in such a positionthat it is di cult to connect the pump tofsame when the bladder isdeflated. l

Another object is to provide a ball of the kind referred to that isinexpensive to manufacture and of such design that the bladder can beeasily connected to or .disconnected from the casin Y Other objects anddesirable features o? y invention will be hereinafter pointed out.

Figure 1 isa top plan vview of a portion of'alfoot ball or basket ballconstructed in accordance with my invention.

yFigure 2 is a bottom lplan view of the parts shown in Figure 1, or, inother words, 1s

'a view of the'inside ofrthe casing. with theV flap turned back and'withthe valve stem taken on the line" 3-3 of Figure 1.

Figure 4' is a transverse sectional view, taken on the line 4--4 ofFigure 1;- and Figure 5 is la detail sectional viewi1lus trating aslight 'modification of my invention. p l

Referring tothe drawings which illustrate the vpreferred` form of myinvention, A designates the' outer casing of a foot b all, basket ball,punching bag or similar device, B designates the bladder that isarranged inside of said casing, C designates the slit in the casingthrough which the bladder is inserted, D desi nates the lacin thatnormally closesfsai Slit and E designates the flap inside of the casingthat is normally arranged over the lacing so as to preventsaidlacingfrom rubbing against the bladder. i

The bladder B-is equipped with an inliating valve that ycomprises ametallic valve stem 1 which is combined with the casing A 55 in such amanner that an inflating pump can be connected to the terminal portionof said valve stem Without disturbing the lacing, the casing beingprovided with a hole 2 arranged at one side of the slit C so as toenable a connection on the end of the hose of the inliating pump to beinserted inV said opening and screwed into the terminal por-` tion ofthe valve stem `1; The hole 2 in the casing is normally closed by a ca 3that 66 is screwed into the outer end of t e valve stem and said valvestem is combined with the casing in suc-h a manner thatthe outer end ofsaid stem terminates inside of the casing. It is immaterial, however, sofar as my broad lidea is concerned, whether the outer end of the valvestem 1 terminates inside of the casing or projects slightly into thehole 2 in the casing, but it is preferable `to have the valve stemterminate at a point 'Il inside of the casing so that the cap or closure3 for the valve stem will extend flush or substantially so with theouter surface ofthe-` casing A.

The novel feature of -my improved ball consists in the means that `i`sused for connecting the valve stem 1 of the bladder to the casing, vsaidmeans being s'o constructed and arranged that it holds the terminalportion of thevalve stem in or in ali ment with g5 the hole 2 'in thecasing, even weln the bladder is deiated. Said, means also has the addedadvantage that fit is inexpensive to.

'construct and is of such design that the bladder can easily beconnected' to or disconnected from the casing A of t-he ball. Brieflystated, said-meansconsists of a nut or other internally screw-threadeddevice 4'arranged in a Apocket on the inner side of the casing Aandvadapted tohave an externall screwo5 threaded portion on the 'outeren of the valve. stem Lscrewed into same. The pocket which receives andholds the device 4 is formed referably by one of the stays 5` on theinsi e f the casing that extends along one side side of the slit C and apocket member 6` that issecured by stitches or in any other suitablemanner to the underside of said stay at a point in proximity to the hole2 in the casing.

In the form of my invention shownlin Figure's' 1 to 4 the pocket thatreceives the Vde'- Yi 4 into which the valve vstem 1 is screwed is openat one side or edge sothat the device 4 can be easily introduced intoand removed from said pocket, this form of pocket being desirable,in'tliat it enables the device 4 to be renewed easily 'in the event thescrew threads of said device becomestripped or otherwise injured. Thetopand bottom walls of the pocket that receive the device 4 are providedwith holes arranged in alignment with the hole 2 in the casing A and theflap E on the inside of the casing is also provided with an alignedhole2il t-hroughfwhich the valve stem passes, the method of combining thebladder B with the casing A of the ball being to fold the flap E againstthe pocket member 6 after the bladder has been introduced into thecasing and then insert the valve stem 1 through the hole 2 ln the flapand screw the externally-threaded portion ot said stem into the device 4arranged in said ocket by rotating the valve stem and the iiladder towhich said stem is connected. Thereafter, the lacing D can be arrangedin the lacing holes provided for same in the casing and tightened,because the hole 2 in the i casing permits the pumpv to be connectedwith the valve stem after the lacing D has been drawn taut so as toclose the slit C in the casing.

The nut or device 4 that co-operates with the valve stem 1 to connectthe bladder with the casing and hold the terminal portion Of said valvecasing in alignment with the hole 2 in the casing, even when the bladderis deflated, is mounted in the pocket in such a manner that it cannotrotate during the operation of screwing the valve stem into samen In theform of my invention shown'in Figures 1 to 4 the pocket formed by thestay and the pocket member 6 is made -considerably larger than the -nutlso as to enable said nut to be easily introduced into or removed fromSaid pocket, and said nut is provided at one end with a reducedportionfi, as shown in broken lines in Figures 1 and 2, that ispositioned between two of the lacing holes in the casing so that if saidnut starts to turn during the operation of screwing the valve stem intosame, the reduced portion 4a of said nut will strike against the lacingD, and thus be held against further rotation. Obviously, the nut 4 couldbe formed in various other waysto accomplish this result, such, forexample, as having the walls of the pocket conformto the shape of thenut, or providing one wall of the pocketfwith an abutment to reventrotary movement of the nut. In the orm of my invention illustrated inFigure 5 the stay 5a on the inside of the casing is provided with a holeor recess that conforms to the outline of a non-circularshaped nut orinternally screw-threaded device 40, and said device is held in saidrecess by means of aimeinber 6a that is connected -in any suitablemanner to th'estay 5*,

said member 6a of course being provided with a hole that is in alignmentwith the internally screw-threaded hole in the device 40a.

A ball of the construction above described is inexpensive tomanufacture; it is of such design that the bladder can be easilyconnected to or disconnected from the casing; the bladder can beinflatedwithout disturbing the lacing D that closes the slit C in the casing;and deflation of the bladder will not result in the'valve stem 1dropping inwardl into the casing or becoming arranged in suc 1 aposition that it is difficult to connect the inflating pumpto said valvestem, this being due to the fact that the terminal portion of the valvestem is screwed into a nut or other similar device which is arranged ina pocket 011 the inner side of the casing. The above desirable features,coupled with the tact that the nut 4 can be renewed easily`in the eventthe threads of same become defective, make mfv ball a decided imrovement on the' balls o this general type t at are now in use. Havingthus described my invention, what -I claim as new and desire to secureby Letters Patent is:

. 1. A foot ball basket ball or the like, comprising a y blad er rovidedwith a valve stem, a casing provi ed with a slit or opening throughwhich said bladder is introduced into the casing, aA pocket on the innerside of said casing arranged at one side of said slit and having a sideopening presented towards said slit, a4 nutor internall screwthreadeddevice'removabl mounte in said pocket and adapted to ave the terminalportion of said valve stem screwed into same, and a hole in the-casingarranged in alignment with said valve stem. A

2. A foot ball, basket ball or the like, cemprising a bladder providedwith a valve stem, a casing provided witha slit or opening through whichsaid bladder. isintroduced `into the casing, alacing for closing saidslit,

a pocket on theinterior of the casing arranged at one side of said slitand formed by al flexible member attached to the casing, a removable nutor internally screw-threaded device in said pocket adapted to have theterminal portion of the valve screwed into same, said nut being looselymounted in said pocket and arranged so that a portion of -said `nutco-operates with said lacing to hold the nut against rotary movementduring the operation of screwing the valve steri into same, and a holein the casing for permitting a. pump to be connected to said valve stem.

3. A foot ball, basket ball or the like, comprising a bladder providedwith a valve stem, a casing provided with a slit or opening throughwhich the bladder is introduced i into the casing, a stay on the innerside of the casing that extends along the side of Said slit. a memberconnected. te said stay and ar- `Lesa,

ranged in opposed relationJ to same so as to form a pocket, a threaded-device removably mounted in said pocket into which the ter minalportion of said valve stem is screwed,'

and a hole in the casing arranged inalignment with said valve stem.

4. A foot ball, basket ball or the' like, comprising a bladder providedwith a valve stem, a casing provided with a. slit through" which thebladder is introduced into the casing, a Hap on the interior of thecasing that is normally arranged over said slit, a'hole in saidflapthrough which the valve stem on the bladder passes, a nut or internallyscrewthreaded device arranged between said flap and the casing andadapted to have the terminal portion of said stem screwed into same, anda hole in the casing for enabling an inlating device to be connected tosaid valve stem. v 4

5. A foot ball, basketball or the like, comprising a bladder providedwith a, valve stem, a casing provided with a slit through which thebladder is introduced into the casing, a. flap on the inner side of thecasing that normally extends over said slit, a lacing for closing saidslit, a member connected to the VAinnerside of the casing and arrangedbetween the casing and said flap so as to form 4 a pocketv which is openat one side, a nut removably mounted in said pocketvand adapted to havethe terminal portion of said valve l stem screwed in tosame, and a holein the casing for enabling an intlating device to be connected to saidvalve stem.

MASON SCUDDER.

